Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 39
Page 40
Page 41
Page 42
Page 43
Page 44
Page 45
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 55
Page 56
Page 57
Page 58
Page 59
Page 60
Page 61
Page 62
Page 63
Page 64
Page 65
Page 66
Page 67
Page 68
54 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM REGULATORY KEEPING YOU INFORMED OF LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY CHANGES IN EUROPE AND ABROAD FROM LAWSUITS TO APPROVALS TO OTHER REGULATORY ISSUES AFFECTING YOUR BUSINESS. NATIONAL TWO GM CROPS APPROVED FOR IMPORT IN THE EU Two genetically modified GM crops have received endorsements to be approved for import in the European Union. The European Food Safety Authority EFSA has deemed the herbicide tolerant GM soybean Mon87708 x Mon89788 and the herbicide tolerant GM maize NK603 x T25 safe for food or feed use. In its scientific opinion EFSA said that both crops are as safe as their non-GM comparators and non-GM con- ventional maize varieties with respect to potential effects on human and animal health and the environment in the context of its scope. AG COMMITTEE OPPOSES NATIONAL BANS ON GM IMPORTS The agriculture committee has rejected the Commissions draft law that would give member states the power to restrict or prohibit the use of EU-approved GM food or feed on their territory. It fears that arbitrary national bans could distort competition on the EUs single market and jeopardise the Unions food production sectors which are heavily dependent on imports of GM feed. The agriculture committees opinion adopted by 28 votes in favour to eight against with six absten- tions will now be scrutinised by the environment committee which has the lead on this file before the Parliament as a whole votes on the matter. This vote in the agriculture committee sends a clear message the Commissions proposal to allow member states to decide whether or not to restrict or ban the use of GM food and feed on their territory must be rejected. We have not been building the EUs single market to let arbitrary political decisions distort it completely said the draftsman of the opinion Albert Dess. The Commissions approach is completely unrealistic. We have many sectors in the EU that rely to a great extent on imports of GM feed and would not be able to survive if it is banned. If we allowed this then all animal food production in the EU would be at stake which could make us much more dependent on food imports from third countries that do not necessarily respect our high production standards. And we certainly want to avoid this. GERMAINS RECEIVES SECOND ESTA ACCREDITATION Germains Seed Technology in Aalten Netherlands has received accred- itation from the European Seed Treatment Assurance scheme ESTA. ESTA sets a standard for quality assurance to ensure seed treatment activities and seed treated with Plant Protection Products meet indus- try requirements as they evolve. Following accreditation at Germains Kings Lynn UK site in December 2013 Germains Seed Technology now prides itself on having two sites that are accredited by ESTA. It is a pri- ority for Germains to be at the forefront of good practice. Germains was the first seed treatment plant to achieve the ESTA standard in the UK said Veronique Heyes EU regulatory manager at Germains. Our journey to align our European sites is progressing well and I am delighted that our production facility in the Netherlands has now been received into the ESTA family. We will now focus plans for our Spanish facility to complete its journey to ESTA accreditation and ensure ESTA accreditation across all production facilities in Europe. ESTA was devised by the European Seed Association ESA in response to the EU Directive 201021EU which requires insecticidal seed treatments to only be performed in professional seed treatment facilities. SCIENTISTS OBJECT TO SCOTLANDS BAN OF GM CROPS Twenty-eight scientific organisations have voiced their concern about the recent banning of GM crops in Scotland and submitted a letter to Richard Lochhead the Scottish cabinet secretary for rural affairs food and environment. In early August 2015 Lochhead announced that he would not allow the planting of insect resistant corn the only GM crop approved for planting in the EU. He also said that he would not allow the use of six other GM crops that are being assessed by the European Food Safety Authority EFSA. In his statement he mentioned that the reason for the ban was to protect and further enhance our clean green status. The scientific organisations including the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British Society of Plant Breeders have asked for a meeting with Lochhead to talk about scientific evidence on GM crops. Lochhead has agreed to meet with the scientists and assured them that the ban will not affect the state of current research in Scotland. INTERNATIONAL U.S. APPROVAL FOR SYNGENTA FUNGICIDE Syngenta has announced that its breakthrough SDHI fungicide Solatenol has received registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. First significant sales in the U.S. are expected in the 2016 season. Solatenol has already been launched in Latin America as Elatus offering growers unrivaled performance against soybean rust a devas- tating disease which can significantly impact yields. In the U.S. prod- ucts containing Solatenol will be available for a wide range of crops including corn soybean wheat peanuts potatoes and vegetables. U.S. growers can expect a step change in disease control from our range of Solatenol products. These valuable new tools demonstrate our commit- ment to producing sustainable innovations that help growers combat diseases while maximising their returns said Syngenta COO Davor Pisk. Regulatory approvals are pending in several markets including the EU. BASF AND EMBRAPA LAUNCH PRODUCTION SYSTEM BASF and Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuria Embrapa have launched the Cultivance Production System a milestone for Brazilian science as it contains the first genetically modified soybean fully developed in Brazil. The technology was approved by the European Union a major import market at the end of the first half of this year. This has made it possible to start production of seeds for making the system available to the market. As a result of the partnership between BASF and Embrapa that stretches back more than 10 years the Cultivance Production System combines four genetically modified soybean culti-